


changes

by pinktiger



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood Friends, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Piercings, changbin is distressed, hyunjin is a soft boy but he suddenly gets a lip ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 22:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16396646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinktiger/pseuds/pinktiger
Summary: Hyunjin gets his lip pierced. Changbin is afraid of changes.





	changes

it took literally a week. changbin was away for a week on a senior year school trip and when he came back, the whole world was upside down.

  
okay, maybe he's exaggerating a little. it's not that big of a deal, it probably shouldn't bother him this much. and yet, for some reason, he can't stop thinking about it.

  
it's just that, why didn't hyunjin tell anyone he was going to get a lip piercing? why didn't he tell changbin?

  
when he asked hyunjin why he got it, the younger just shrugged and said he felt like it. felt like it my ass, changbin thought. it just wasn't like hyunjin. hyunjin is a good boy; he studies well, does well at sports, has perfect attendance. his hair isn't dyed, it's neatly cut, his outfits are usually composed of sweaters and jeans. he just doesn't look like the kind of person that would impulsively decide to get piercings.

  
between the two of them, changbin is the edgy one. he always wears black, has multiple ear piercings, he listens to dark music and he skips school. sometimes. within reason. like, maybe once a semester. he has to keep his marks good, okay.

  
and even changbin never thought of getting piercings anywhere but his ears. but here hyunjin is. a good boy with a goddamn lip piercing.

  
maybe this is why it's bothering changbin so much. because of the ridiculous contrast.

  
or maybe he's bothered because hyunjin suddenly decided to change something when he wasn't around and it reminded him that once he leaves for college that can happen a lot. hyunjin will keep moving forward and changbin won't be a part of it anymore.

  
either way, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the lip ring makes hyunjin's already plump bottom lip look even fuller. no, it has nothing to do with that at all.

  
\---

  
"i wonder what it's like to kiss someone with a lip piercing," jisung says casually through a mouthful of fries. going to lotteria after school is their wednesday ritual and it's something changbin usually looks forward to. but right now he's starting to wish he was somewhere else.

  
"then you should kiss jinnie," minho says, just as casually. changbin starts choking on his hamburger. felix mutters a concerned 'hyung' and kindly pats his back.

  
hyunjin laughs, taking it as a joke, but jisung seems to be actually considering it. "maybe i should."

  
"i'm not that easy," hyunjin protests with a pout.

  
"then should i take you on a date first?"

  
"are you asking me out?"

  
"maybe."

  
"jisung, this isn't funny," changbin interrupts once he can finally breathe properly. he's not sure why he's so annoyed; they joke around like that all the time, especially minho and jisung.

  
"what? you can't tell me you're not curious." jisung grins; there's a devilish edge to it changbin really doesn't like. he thinks jisung has been spending too much time with minho. "what it'd feel like against your lips."

  
"what?" changbin sputters. his heart starts pounding in his chest but he tries his best to keep his composure. "you're really fucking weird."

  
"whatever," jisung shrugs. "i get it, hyunjin is off limits." hyunjin blinks at that, his eyes jumping between changbin and jisung, but he doesn't say anything. changbin doesn't protest either. he knows he has no right to feel like that but right now he really wants hyunjin to be off limits. "lix, do you wanna get a piercing?"

  
"what?" felix's eyes turn round. he pauses for a moment, looking like a teacher just called him to answer a very complicated mathematical question. then, apparently unable to solve it, he frowns and slowly asks, "why?"

  
jisung pouts at him then sighs and solemnly dips another fry in ketchup. "never mind," he says, shoving it into his mouth. "guess i'll never find out."

  
\---

  
"so i'm off limits, huh?" hyunjin asks when they're walking back home. his tone is light and he's smiling but changbin still feels himself flush.

  
"to dumbasses like jisung for sure," he tries to cover his embarrassment with a joke.

  
hyunjin hums. "i think jisung is nice."

  
"but he likes felix." hyunjin's lack of surprise or any other reaction confirms what changbin has been suspecting: everyone knows except for felix himself. "and he's such a baby. you're a baby too, it just won't work out."

  
"i'm not a baby," hyunjin protest with a pout and a whine, making changbin laugh.

  
"you sure sound like one."

  
"if i'm a baby that makes you a toddler." hyunjin pokes changbin's cheek. "cause you're small." changbin swats his hand away but not without a smile.

  
"ah really? hyung has been looking after you all this time and this is how you're gonna be? hyunjin-ah, you wound me."

  
hyunjin laughs, in that happy unrestrained way that always fills changbin's chest with warmth. they're quiet for a moment, the sort of comfortable silence you can share only with a close friend, when you're so unguarded the other could probably read your mind if they tried.

  
and then hyunjin says, softly, "you really have."

  
"huh?" changbin looks up at him, confused. he swears he can see hyunjin blush under his stare

  
"been looking after me," he mutters, then starts chewing on his lip, playing with the piercing, something he's been doing more and more as it healed. changbin flushes and looks away- for more reasons than one.

  
he's not sure what to say so he just smiles and pats hyunjin's shoulder. their hands brush as he pulls away and it makes him remember how he used to hold hyunjin's hand on the way to school and back home when they were kids. he took the hyung role very seriously despite being only a year older.

  
nowadays, he doesn't do that anymore. he's not sure when he stopped. probably around the time he started thinking hyunjin was pretty. hyunjin's feelings for him were purely platonic, so it didn't feel right. it felt like he was deceiving him. so he stopped.

  
hyunjin never asked about it; changbin is not sure he even noticed. he supposes it's just a part of growing up. you eventually stop platonically holding hands with your friends, with your parents, and you don't remember when the last time you did it was.

  
"hyung, have you also wondered about it?" hyunjin asks quietly. changbin can already see the pastel yellow wall of hyunjin's house beyond the street corner. the view is so familiar, it hasn't changed in years and all of sudden it makes changbin's chest squeeze.

  
they live only a few blocks away from each other and it's always been like this, changbin walking hyunjin home, unless they finish school at different times. but it's going to change next year, changbin thinks. he's going to college next year.

  
and he's thinking about it again. he shakes the thoughts off and looks at hyunjin questioningly.

  
"about what?"

  
"what it's like to kiss someone with a lip piercing." hyunjin says it in the tone he usually uses to joke but it's quiet, rushed, and he's not meeting changbin's eyes. changbin frowns. he's usually perceptive but he can't figure this out.

  
"why, want me to kiss you?" he jokes, just because it's a thing they do sometimes, and he doesn't feel nervous about it anymore.

  
they're already at the entrance leading to the tiny lawn in front of hyunjin's house. hyunjin turns around to face him, a small smile stretching his lips.

  
"m-maybe," he stutters. changbin stares at him blankly and before he has a chance to gather his thoughts and respond, hyunjin laughs, like it was a joke- except the laugh sounds forced and nervous. "um, see you later, hyung!"

  
and with that he turns on his heel and runs up the steps to his house. before changbin knows, he's staring at the closing door.

  
\---

  
the thing is, changbin does wonder about how it'd feel. and not in general, he's thinking about hyunjin's lips specifically. he feels guilty about it; hyunjin is his childhood friend and this is just wrong. sure, changbin has always had a little crush on him. he's not straight and hyunjin is ridiculously good looking and one of the nicest people he knows. it's just impossible not to feel something. but he never intended to act on it.

  
hyunjin is making things hard for him these days. changbin can't even really blame him because he knows it's unconscious but hyunjin keeps playing with the lip ring- tugging it with his fingers, licking it, biting it. all this makes it impossible for changbin not to stare at his lips. just why do they have to be so plump and pretty? how is he supposed not to wonder how it'd it feel to kiss hyunjin?

  
"hyung," hyunjin says, looking up from his notes- very neat and color coded so most likely actually seungmin's- and totally catching changbin staring at him. "i can feel you looking at me," he says, frowning. "what's wrong?"

  
"uh." changbin looks back down at his textbook. they're supposed to be studying; they often to that, just hang at each other's places, each doing their own thing. somehow just being together makes everything more fun, even studying. "i was spacing out."

  
"are you worrying about college again?" hyunjin sounds concerned now and changbin hates himself a little bit. "you know you're going to get into whichever college you want, you're really smart."

  
changbin sighs. now that they're talking about it, the fears he's been trying to push down are resurfacing.

  
"it's not what i'm worried about." achieving his goals has never been a problem. he's not the type to give up. and yet, he's afraid of many things.

  
hyunjin taps his pen against his lips. changbin tries his best not to stare. "then what?"

  
"just. things changing. us. all of us, drifting away."

  
hyunjin doesn't respond; he gets up from his desk and sits down on the bed next to changbin. changbin looks at him questioningly and they end up smiling at each other, soft, comforting. it's like changbin can read hyunjin's intentions without any words.

  
"it'll be okay, hyung," hyunjin says quietly, resting his head on changbin's shoulder. he does that so often the weight is so familiar and comforting. "even if some of us do, it doesn't change the fact we love each other now."

  
changbin smiles. he likes that hyunjin isn't trying to convince him their friend group will stay closely tied for sure. he's not that optimistic. and hyunjin has a point. what they have now is precious and important.

  
"you're right." it's funny how most of the time he feels he should be the one looking after hyunjin but sometimes he feels like without hyunjin he'd be lost. maybe it's because hyunjin tends to think a lot about his feelings and changbin just pushes through them. sometimes he gets overwhelmed, and at those times just listening to hyunjin's thoughts makes him feel better.

  
"i've been worrying about it too," hyunjin admits. of course he has, changbin thinks. to a stranger it may seem like hyunjin is too busy with his daily life to have doubts about the future, too carefree to worry about little things but changbin knows him well. "and i just… i know we have to grow up and we will lose some friends on the way. but." he pauses, exhales a shaky breath. "i don't want to lose you," he finishes in a small voice.

  
"you won't," changbin says immediately, without even thinking about it. it's not an empty promise. and he's been stupid, really- he worried so much when he's the one leaving. of course hyunjin would be upset about it too. changbin might be scared but going to college is still his own decision. hyunjin must be feeling helpless, maybe frustrated that he's a year younger, and that's even worse. "you can't get rid of me that easily."

  
hyunjin laughs and the little rush of happiness changbin always gets when he makes him laugh gives him the courage to take hyunjin's hand in his and really hold it, the way he used to a long time ago. he intertwines their fingers and squeezes hyunjin's hand and maybe his heart is beating a bit faster now but somehow, it's okay.

  
"it's been a while since you held my hand," hyunjin says. it takes changbin by surprise- he genuinely didn't think hyunjin remembered. "why did you stop?" there's a pout in his voice and changbin smiles. suddenly, he makes up his mind. and he's the type to act as soon as he makes a decision, before he can doubt himself.

  
"remember when you asked me if i wonder what it's like to kiss someone with a lip ring?"

  
"hyung, that was like a week ago," hyunjin replies. changbin can sense his nervousness despite the humor in his voice. "of course i remember."

  
"well, the answer is yes. i keep wondering what it'd be like to kiss you. and i mean, lip ring or not. i've been thinking about it for a long time."

  
"really?" hyunjin pulls back to properly look at him. changbin’s heart is pounding in his chest but he doesn't look away, anticipating hyunjin's reaction. "me too," hyunjin says finally with a small smile and changbin lets out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. so he read the signs right; hyunjin really likes him back.

  
"then can i…"

  
before he can finish the question, hyunjin leans in. quite clumsily; their noses bump and their lips barely brush and hyunjin giggles, his eyes turning into crescents. changbin finds himself grinning, stupidly happy even though their first kiss was definitely a failure. then he cups hyunjin's cheek and leans in again, tilting his head, his eyes falling shut.

  
his first thought is, funny enough, that jisung would be disappointed. objectively speaking, there is nothing special about kissing someone with a lip ring, it fits snuggly against hyunjin's lip and he can barely feel it.

  
subjectively speaking, changbin can't even compare it to any other kiss because it's hyunjin, and changbin swears his lips were made for kissing. the kiss is slow and sweet as they take their time exploring each other. changbin gently nibbles on hyunjin's bottom lip, something he's wanted to do since forever. he gives the piercing and experimental tug and hyunjin makes a small sound, something between a gasp and a whine, making changbin pause.

  
"did that hurt?" he asks against hyunjin's lips.

  
"a bit." hyunjin replies, sounding a bit embarrassed. "but… i liked it."

  
"oh." so maybe there is something different about kissing someone with a lip ring after all.

  
changbin pulls back to gently run his thumb along hyunjin's lip; it seems like it's fully healed by now so it should be safe. hyunjin gives him a questioning look; he's flushed and his lips are red and parted invitingly, like he's asking for more kisses.

  
and well, it's not like changbin could ever say no to that.

  
\---

  
"so why did you get that piercing?" changbin asks later once they're done studying. and making out. they're sitting cuddled up on the bed watching coco on changbin's laptop. changbin is not really paying attention; he likes the movie but he's seen it four times already because both hyunjin and felix really love it.

  
"didn't you ask me already?"

  
"yeah but you just said you felt like it." changbin gives hyunjin a skeptical look. "and i remember when you got your ears pierced. you said you'd never do that again because it hurt too much."

  
hyunjin unconsciously touches his ear. he's not wearing them now but he has some pretty drop earrings he sometimes wears when they go out. changbin likes them, they really suit him.

  
"it's true though. i felt like it." hyunjin bites his lip and changbin feels like kissing him again. he's glad he can do that now but still, being around hyunjin and not kissing him all the time might prove to be a challenge. "i don't know, i just… i was also worrying about things changing, you know? and i guess i wanted to change something myself. something i could control. does that make any sense?"

  
"yeah, it does," changbin says softly, reaching to pet hyunjin's hair.

  
"you don't think it suits me." hyunjin pouts a little.

  
"what?" changbin laughs. "it's ridiculous how much it suits you. it looks great."

  
"really?" hyunjin brightens up. "i don't really want any more piercings but i really like this one. i didn't think i'd like it this much." he laughs, remembering something. "but my mom nearly fainted when she saw it."

  
changbin snorts. "i can imagine. her precious baby son suddenly rebelling, and only now even though he's been under bad influence for so long."

  
"my mom doesn't think you're bad influence. she loves you. if we want to get married i think she'll approve."

  
"good to know," changbin says and, unable to resist it any longer, he pulls hyunjin in for another kiss.

  
the future still seems a little scary, and he knows it's not going to be easy, but he thinks he's ready for changes. in the end, if things don't change they can't get better.

 

**Author's Note:**

> so this was supposed to be a silly drabble about hyunjin getting a lip ring but somehow i made it all emotional lol  
> i hope yall like it!


End file.
